[On-site Video] "75 tons per year? Hundreds of tons caught daily"... Fishermen Urge Easing of Bluefin Tuna Regulations

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[Asia Economy PD Yoon Jin-geun] “The government should ease the unreasonable fishing regulations on political net fishing!”

Fishermen engaged in political net fishing held up dead bluefin tuna and urged the government to relax fishing restrictions.

On the morning of the 8th, political net fishermen from Yeongdeok, Gyeongsangbuk-do, held a rally in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, calling for the abolition of the bluefin tuna catch quota. Political net fishing is a fishing method where nets are lowered within a specific area to catch fish trapped inside.

Political net fishers from Yeongdeok, Gyeongsangbuk-do, held a rally on the morning of the 8th in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, urging the abolition of the tuna catch quota. Participants in the rally are holding placards and shouting slogans. Photo by Jin-geun Yoon PD yoon@

The group pointed out that for several years, due to the annual exhaustion of the "bluefin tuna quota," bluefin tuna caught in political nets cannot be sold and are discarded back into the sea. They particularly argued that the current situation, where even bluefin tuna caught in political nets cannot be sold due to the nature of this fishing method, needs to be revised.

According to the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries allocated only 74.4 tons of bluefin tuna catch quota for political net fishing to Gyeongsangbuk-do in 2022. This is based on the total catch quota of 870 tons allocated to South Korea by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) through meetings. The fishermen who participated in the rally expressed that the quota allocated to the province is far too insufficient compared to the actual amount of bluefin tuna caught through fishing.

Political net fishers from Yeongdeok, Gyeongsangbuk-do held a rally on the morning of the 8th in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, urging the abolition of the tuna catch quota. The photo shows rally participants holding bluefin tuna and shouting slogans. Photo by Jin-geun Yoon PD yoon@

At the rally, fishermen carried bluefin tuna carcasses in styrofoam boxes. They also shouted slogans while holding bluefin tuna. During the rally, a video was shown of a fisherman throwing bluefin tuna, piled high on a boat deck, one by one into the sea.

The fishermen shouted slogans such as “Government, protect your citizens” and “Government, ease fishing regulations on political net fishing.” They also called for “Withdrawal from the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.”

Political net fishers from Yeongdeok, Gyeongsangbuk-do held a rally on the morning of the 8th in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, urging the abolition of the tuna catch quota. The photo shows bluefin tuna brought by the fishers to the rally. Photo by Jin-geun Yoon PD yoon@

The group urged the government to ▲ease fishing regulations on political net fishing and ▲allow government purchase and sale of bluefin tuna.

Choi Young-joo (62), president of the Yeongdeok Political Net Fishing Association, pointed out that the fishing quota allocated under the WCPFC agreement is far below the realistic harvest volume. He said, “The quota originally allocated by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Gyeongsangbuk-do is about 75 tons,” adding, “We catch hundreds of tons in a single day. So if we catch a little too much, it becomes illegal fishing afterward.”

President Choi also criticized the regulations under the WCPFC agreement as unsuitable for the ecology of bluefin tuna. He said, “Contrary to the original purpose of the quota system, bluefin tuna die even if released back into the water. It’s like discarding hundreds of tons of dead fish into the sea every day,” adding, “The discarded fish pollute the environment, and from the fishermen’s perspective, it’s frustrating to see valuable tuna thrown away into the sea.”

Concerns were also raised that the quota system causes significant damage to fishermen by preventing the sale of bluefin tuna. Choi Sung-woo (48), a member of the Ganggu Political Net Fishing Association, said the damage to fishermen amounts to “over 1 billion won annually, about 500 million won per household,” adding, “Thousands or tens of thousands of bluefin tuna are caught daily. The damage is beyond words.”